Last Updated on August 21, 2026 by Deliciously Organic Editor
It’s the holiday season – let’s start off the month with some chocolate chip pecan cookies!
My brother loves these cookies. He and his wife will celebrate Christmas with us in just a few weeks, so I created a grain-free version we can all enjoy. You can make cookie dough ahead of time and freeze it in an airtight container for about three months. I like to scoop the cookies, freeze them, then pop them into the oven straight from the freezer – just add about 5 minutes of baking time. This way, you can always have some treats on hand when family or friends pop by!
PrintChocolate Chip Coconut Pecan Cookies (Gluten-Free)
The gelatin and cashew butter give the dough structure and are needed for this recipe. If you’d like you can trade out the coconut and pecans for your favorite dried fruits and nuts.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Total Time: 22 minutes
- Yield: About 1 dozen cookies
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Gluten Free
Ingredients
- 2 cups almond flour
- 2 tablespoons coconut flour
- 1/2 teaspoon unflavored grass-fed gelatin
- 1/2 teaspoon Celtic sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 1/4 cup raw honey
- 2 tablespoons cashew butter (I make this with soaked cashews and a bit of water)
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
- 1/2 cup soaked and dehydrated chopped pecans
- 3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and adjust rack to middle position. Whisk almond flour, coconut flour, gelatin, salt and baking soda together in a large mixing bowl. Stir in butter, honey, cashew butter and vanilla. Fold in coconut and chocolate. Using a 2-inch cookie scoop, spoon cookies on to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Gently press on each cookie to make each cookie about 1-inch thick. Bake for 12 minutes. Serve.
Is the gelatin in powder form? Since I went vegan, I don’t use gelatin and thought I might try agar agar as a replacement. If I do, I’ll let you know how it works out.
Yes, the gelatin is in powdered form. If you give agar agar a try, let me know how it goes!
I didn’t see pecans in the ingredients, how much do you recommend? Soaked and roasted? Thanks.
Thanks for pointing that out! 🙂 I made the edit. And, it’s 1/2 cup soaked and dehydrated chopped pecans.
You’ve done it again! I’m having a Craft Fair at my home this Saturday, we are having a bake sale, too! I was checking your site to see what type of grain free goodie I could make. I love that I can make the dough today and freeze and bake early Saturday morning. Nothing better than ooey, gooey, chewy, chunks of chocolate and pecans with a cup of coffee on a Saturday morning, haha, I’m kidding, sort of :o) Thanks!
How many soaked cashews will yield the two tablespoons of cashew butter? Does the butter store well if I make a cup of it?
It’s about 2-3 tablespoons of cashews for the homemade butter. I usually soak a cup of cashews and then blend it with some water and store it in the fridge. I add it to breads, cookies, cakes, etc. to give extra stability and structure. I haven’t tried freezing it, but I don’t see why you couldn’t freeze it and then thaw as needed (maybe freeze in an ice cube tray!).
We are dairy free. Do you think coconut oil would work for the butter,or would Earth Balance sticks be better? These sound amazing.
I haven’t tested it, but coconut oil should work well for these cookies. I wouldn’t use Earth Balance as that is a processed food. Hope that helps! 🙂
these look great! is there a substitute i might be able to use for the cashew butter? i don’t have cashews on hand but would love to make these today! thanks!
Almond butter will work nicely as a substitute.
Is the gelatin an absolute necessity or can I just leave it out? I was wondering if it was necessary for the texture to come out properly or just a good paleo protein source to sneak into the cookies. I don’t have any on hand and wanted to whip these up today…….they sound delicious!
Yes, the gelatin acts as a binder for the gf flours. You can make it without, but the cookies will be a bit more crumbly.
Can you use flax seed or psyllium instead?
I haven’t tested the recipe with substitutions, so I don’t know what would lend the exact same texture and flavor.
Love how you used soaked dehydrated nuts ~ that’s on my wish list, a dehydrator!
These look great! I’ve not really experimented with grain free cooking, but love your site. Out of curiosity, is there a specific reason for adding such a small amount of coconut flour instead of just using all almond flour?
These look divine! Thank you for sharing! Hope you and your family have a very blessed CHRISTmas! With much love and many blessings, Kelly
This appeared in my inbox this morning, and fortuitously, I am working from home today, so could throw these together. I used regular, preprepared cashew butter, raw (but unsoaked/dehydrated)pecans b/c I choose not to mess with that too much. I also used Knox gelatin, b/c that’s what I had on hand. I also used Lindt 90% Supreme Dark chocolate…a 3.5 ounce bar missing one square. I liked the strong chocolate, but next time would chop it more finely. I used a stand mixer, just for ease, and these turned out great. I used a 1.5-inch cookie scoop, but my batch made 40 cookies! Hard to believe that would make such a difference. I am at altitude, so I found the smaller cookies baked just fine with the 12 minute suggestion (I usually have to bake things longer). Great recipe!
Holy smokes these are amazing!! I didn’t use the gelatin and they turned out great. Have you ever used coconut spread? I just bought some but have never used it; the container tells me I can use it in place of butter. I wonder how it would work in these? The butter tastes delish though (Of course!) I’m experimenting. 🙂
These are yummy!!! Definitly making these again. I like that they aren’t overly sweet. I used enjoy life semi sweet choc. Chips instead because I had those on hand.
I was wondering, if you do not have celiac disease, are these chocolate chip coconut pecan cookies still safe for my family and friends to eat? Thank you
Yes, they are safe for your friends and family to eat.
I made this and they tasted fantastic but the dough was dry and the cookies didn’t hold together when I was placing them on the cookie sheet. What did I do wrong? And a cookie without eggs is a nice change.
What brand of almond flour did you use? There are certain brands that lend a very crumbly cookie. Did you make any substitutions?
Just made these cookies today, they are still warm. I ate 2 and the children 1 each, for now. It’s very rare my children like both the same things.
Carrie, so far I’ve tried the banana swirl cake, the coffee cake and the nut free cookies and everything has been wonderful. Thanks
These were so good! Easy enough for my younger kids to make! I didn’t have the energy for the cashew butter, so used a coconut spread I had on hand – turned out great! The mix was also a bit dry so that there was a bunch of the coconut/choc chips/pecans left, so I added another tablespoon of butter and another teaspoon of honey and that did the trick so that there was nothing left in the bowl. Thanks for such an awesome recipe!!